Chapter 84

These bodyguards worked for Joshua, and since Shermaine was his fiancée, they followed her orders without question. As far as they were concerned, Joshua’s future wife held the same authority as Joshua himself – she was their boss too.

“I also need paper and a pen,” Shermaine added.

One of the bodyguards happened to have both in his pocket. He pulled them out and handed them over. “Here you are, Mrs. York.”

The title rolled off his tongue naturally.

Shermaine acknowledged him with a brief nod and quickly scribbled down several herbs on the paper. When she finished, she handed it back to the bodyguard. “Grind all these herbs into powder and bring them back to me. Hurry.”

“Yes, Mrs. York.”

As they were about to carry Leslie away, the doctor clearly disapproved of sending a man who was coughing up blood to soak in ice water. Besides, he wasn’t sure if Shermaine actually knew how to treat anyone.

Joshua noticed the pool of blood on the floor and frowned. He reached down and lifted the hem of Shermaine’s dress to keep it from getting stained.

After all, once they dealt with Leslie, the engagement party would need to continue, and such a beautiful dress shouldn’t be ruined.

Roy pushed through the crowd and stared at Leslie, who was still coughing up blood. “Joshua, why is he suddenly spitting blood like this?”

Joshua ignored Roy completely. He had no patience for someone who couldn’t handle simple tasks properly.

The other guests watched in disbelief as Joshua held up Shermaine’s dress. In their eyes, Joshua had always been untouchable and above everyone else. Seeing him act so considerate felt like watching a god fall from his pedestal.

The doctor watched them preparing to take Leslie away and protested again, “Ms. Shue, this isn’t right. He’s coughing up this much blood and needs immediate medical attention at a hospital. If something goes wrong, it’ll be serious.”

Lincoln looked worried sick. “Mr. York, Ms. Shue, I apologize for my son’s rudeness, but he’s my only child. Nothing can happen to him.”

Roy turned to Shermaine and added, “Exactly. Do you even know how to treat people? You’re not a doctor.”

Shermaine glanced at him, her eyes turning cold. “Did I say I couldn’t?”

Roy was caught off guard by Shermaine’s words and found himself speechless. He suddenly realized that Shermaine’s presence was actually intimidating him.

Shermaine found it amusing. Roy was supposed to be someone important in Basterel, yet here he was acting like a complete pushover.

While she was thinking this, Joshua punched Roy in the head and ordered, “Roy, clean up the blood on the floor.”

“Oh, I’ll call someone to do it right away,” Roy replied.

“I said you, Roy. Do it yourself.”

Roy stared at Joshua in disbelief.

Joshua’s eyes turned cold. “What are you waiting for?”

“I’ll do it right now.” Roy knew Joshua was punishing him, and this was probably just the beginning.

Shermaine spoke concisely, “If you take him to the hospital, it’ll be too late. Trust me, and he’ll be fine.”

If they didn’t trust her and insisted on the hospital, Leslie would die, and she’d be implicated. After all, that glass of wine was meant for her in the first place.

The doctor looked at Shermaine curiously, dying to ask what she had diagnosed in Leslie that he, with over ten years of medical experience, couldn’t see.

Lincoln hesitated. Shermaine was too young, and he didn’t know whether to trust her or not.

Joshua spoke smoothly, “Mr. Schuyler, you can trust my fiancée’s words. She won’t let the only heir of the Schuyler family die here.”

Since Joshua had given his word, Lincoln had no choice but to take a chance on Shermaine.

Lincoln reluctantly agreed, “Then I’ll leave my son in Ms. Shue’s hands.”

Shermaine nodded slightly and looked up at Joshua. “I’ll leave things here to you.”

“Got it.” Since someone had dared to lay hands on Shermaine right here in Joshua’s territory, he had to deal with it.

Shermaine followed the bodyguard to the lounge where Leslie was resting. She wanted to keep an eye on him.

Owen and Ross approached Joshua.

“Joshua, do you know what happened?” Owen asked.

“What happened to Leslie wasn’t an accident. Someone did this deliberately,” Joshua replied.

Owen was taken aback. ‘Someone had deliberately harmed Leslie? But who would attack Leslie at an event like this?’

Standing next to Ruth, Wendelyn tensed up. She reassured herself that hiring someone to kill Yvonne had been the right choice. Once Yvonne was dead, there would be no witnesses left. She wouldn’t have to worry about Yvonne being forced to reveal the truth and expose her involvement.

The thought that Yvonne was probably already dead made Wendelyn feel less afraid. Everything would be fine. Joshua would never trace anything back to her.

Lincoln frowned and said, “My son is just an eighteen-year-old high school student. He doesn’t have enemies. I’ve always conducted myself with integrity and kept a low profile in business. Are you sure this was deliberate? There must be some mistake.”

Joshua explained, “Someone was trying to harm Shermaine, but Leslie accidentally drank the spiked wine instead.”

Everyone was shocked. ‘What? The target was Shermaine?’ Both Janice and Ross’ faces paled at the revelation.

His words sent shockwaves through the room. The crowd murmured in disbelief. Someone who had the nerve to pull something like this on the York family’s turf must have a death wish.

Wendelyn, who had just begun to relax, felt the color drain from her face again as Joshua’s words sank in. ‘So they knew all along that the wine was tampered with?’

Ross’ expression darkened as he asked, “Have you found out who did it?”

“She..."